Freeman, the new novel by Leonard Pitts, Jr., takes place in the first few months following the Confederate surrender and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Upon learning of Lee's surrender, Sam - a runaway slave who once worked for the Union Army - decides to leave his safe haven in Philadelphia and set out on foot to return to the war-torn South. What compels him on this almost-suicidal course is the desire to find his wife, the mother of his only child, whom he and their son left behind 15 years earlier on the Mississippi farm to which they all "belonged".

Your Likes make Audible better!

Publisher's Summary

Freeman, the new novel by Leonard Pitts, Jr., takes place in the first few months following the Confederate surrender and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Upon learning of Lee's surrender, Sam - a runaway slave who once worked for the Union Army - decides to leave his safe haven in Philadelphia and set out on foot to return to the war-torn South. What compels him on this almost-suicidal course is the desire to find his wife, the mother of his only child, whom he and their son left behind 15 years earlier on the Mississippi farm to which they all "belonged".

At the same time, Sam's wife, Tilda, is being forced to walk at gunpoint with her owner and two of his other slaves from the charred remains of his Mississippi farm into Arkansas, in search of an undefined place that would still respect his entitlements as slave owner and Confederate officer.

The book's third main character, Prudence, is a fearless, headstrong white woman of means who leaves her Boston home for Buford, Mississippi, to start a school for the former bondsmen, and thus honor her father's dying wish.

At its core, Freeman is a love story - sweeping, generous, brutal, compassionate, patient - about the feelings people were determined to honor, despite the enormous constraints of the times. It is this aspect of the novel that should ensure it a strong, vocal, core audience of African-American women, who will help propel its likely critical acclaim to a wider audience. At the same time, this book addresses several themes that are still hotly debated today, some 145 years after the official end of the Civil War.

Like Cold Mountain, Freeman illuminates the times and places it describes from a fresh perspective, with stunning results. It has the potential to become a classic addition to the literature dealing with this period. Few other novels so powerfully capture the pathos and possibility of the era, particularly as it reflects the ordeal of the black slaves grappling with the promise - and the terror - of their new status as free men and women.

What the Critics Say

"In lyrical prose, Pitts unflinchingly and movingly portrays the period's cruelties, and triumphs in capturing the spirit of the times through eminently-identifiable lead characters." (Publishers Weekly)

I made the mistake of scanning some reviews before downloading this book. There's a spoiler in one review that's hard to miss. It ended up really changing this book for me because it destroyed a plot line. I'm not sure how I would have felt about this book had I not spent the first half in anticipation.

I wanted to love this book, but didn't. I liked it very much but there was a predictability about it that kept me from loving it. The narrator wasn't stunning from the start, but the nuanced reading really captured the characters. In the end, it was a huge asset to the book. It's not the kind of reading that jumps out at you. Rather, it's subtle and works perfectly for this book.

Interesting that the end of war is really the beginning of upheaval in many instances. I'd never really thought about the implication of that when it came to the end of the U.S. Civil War in 1865. This book provides insight into individual thinking/motivation when societal change is in the works. In that regard, it's excellent.

Too often people assume that when a war ends the trouble stops, the problems are over. That is far from true. It took over a century to begin to fix the Civil Rights problem that was supposedly resolved with the conclusion of the Civil War in 1865! This book is an excellent study on what life was like for the blacks in the years following the Civil War. This book is all about how the Dixie Southerners continued to view the colored. Views did not change overnight. It is also about how the blacks viewed themselves. What is freedom when you have no money and no employment and no place to live? What is freedom when you don’t know where your mother, father, wife and children are or even if they are still alive? What is freedom after rape and murder and repetitive beatings? How do you reach emotional stability after living through such horror? Can you forgive?

This book draws a picture that I believe to be accurate and realistic. It cannot be an easy read or a comforting read, but it ends with hope and a promise for the future. Parts were hard for me to read, and that is because the author made me care for the characters. Some were clever, others despicable, but all of them felt real.

I appreciated that both sides, the slave owners and the slaves, were portrayed fairly. One was not all wrong and the other all right. Even the most despicable were occasionally, well, at least not all bad!

I also liked how the plot unrolled. The author created a fascinating story that you want to understand. You want to know what is going to happen and how the problems will be resolved. At the end you understand everything. There are no loose ends, and I very much like the ending, being both realistic and hopeful too.

At first I was uncomfortable with the narration by Sean Crisden, but by the end I loved it. What bothered me at first was when he spoke lines presented in the third person. He stops at the periods and commas, and I felt he was listening to himself with a tone of self-satisfaction. However as you listen further, and as you become aware of each character’s personality, there are more and more dialogs and these are just perfect. He captures the Southern dialect and the Yankee dialect, the whites and the blacks, women and men and children, all equally well.

I will close with a quote from the book:

“You gotta have hope. To hope is the whole point. Being scared all the time ain’t much different from bein dead.”

There are good lines to suck on! I liked this book very much, and I highly recommend the audio format.

This is a book I won't soon forget. I loved the characters--Prudence, Bonnie, Sam, Miss Jenny, Tilda. The author makes you care about these people and want them to succeed. They were all so real, and the author's portrayals were enhanced by the narrator. We even gain insight into the despicable people and their actions. That doesn't make their actions any less atrocious, but it does make them perhaps a little more understandable.

I would listen to Freeman again (and actually, I plan to...) to see how Leonard Pitts completely captures each nuanced emotion from his characters. Every character, major and minor has something to say, and each person literally jumps off the page.

What other book might you compare Freeman to and why?

"The Warmth of Other Sons" by Isabelle Wilkerson. They both have a way of making the desires of their characters become your own.

What does Sean Crisden bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

It took a few minutes to acclimate myself to Sean Crisden's voice, but only a few. When the emotional scenes came up in the novel, Crisden went from reading to acting. Often during the course of the book, I felt like I was watching a film. The color in his voice was broad and full.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

At 15 hours, it's hard to listen to "Freeman" in one sitting; I don't know if anyone could stand the emotional rollercoaster ride. I listened during my trips to and from work as well as on shopping errands, trips to the laundromat, etc. However, the test of a truly well written/well told story is if I listen to it at home while the television and other distractions are present. This novel has passed that test: At least four hours of this book's running time was spent in my home office, with the door shut and the headphones slapped on my ears. All of this just to find out what happens next!

Any additional comments?

Bravo! This is a triumphant novel. I can only hope that my future offerings will elicit within my readers at least one-tenth the reaction this book has had in me.

This book was so well written, I enjoyed it from beginning to end, I felt the emotions of the characters, the anger, sadness, happiness, hopefulness, I just cant say enough about this book it was just wonderful. I cant wait to read more from the author. This was a great story of love, endurance, strength and hope!!!

I've listened to this story twice, after reading the book. The reader's voice changing nimbly while delivering the lines as though there were several different people speaking brought the characters to life . This book was beautifully written. It's a great love story conceived in slavery. Love, hate, fear, and desperation ; a story of people clinging to a beloved past and others fighting for a better future. I highly recommend this book.

A great 'quest' story, well written and set in a fascinating time in US history. I loved the humanity and complexity of all the characters, good and bad. This is just a really good book, and I highly recommend it.

Freeman was an unexpectedly good book, with quality writing and a solid plot. The first years after the Civil War are rarely dealt with in fiction and the braided story of Sam, Tilda, and Prudence did so beautifully. Pitts doesn't turn away from the trials and horrors of the post-Civil War Era, nor does he glorify the North in his treatment of his characters. All are flawed and all are beautiful. In addition, the story was well narrated.

Where does Freeman rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

10 out of 10 this was a great

What other book might you compare Freeman to and why?

Roots the characters were so well written it made care about them and love them.

Have you listened to any of Sean Crisden’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This was my first time listening to Sean but he was an great narrator that made me feel the tension, suspense and care about the chracters of bonnie, Sam and purdance. The characters are so compelling that I was sad when the novel ended. I loved this narrator!

Your report has been received. It will be reviewed by Audible and we will take appropriate action.

Can't wait to hear more from this listener?

You can now follow your favorite reviewers on Audible.

When you follow another listener, we'll highlight the books they review, and even email* you a copy of any new reviews they write. You can un-follow a listener at any time to stop receiving their updates.

* If you already opted out of emails from Audible you will still get review emails by the listeners you follow.